I believe the key reason for adult Bible classes in the local church is the organization to fulfill the purposes of the church. Dr. Lee Roberson used to say, “The Sunday school is the church organized to fulfill the purpose of the church.”

We trust God and are thankful for His promises of provision in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” However, I wonder how many of us are planning appropriately for our income to continue in the event of illness, disability, or old age.

Because reaching our community with the gospel is so important, I believe it should be approached with both passion and organization. The 4Outreach program is an organized plan that we use at Lancaster Baptist Church to help us share our faith passionately.

We cannot always measure effectiveness by visible fruit. Some of my favorite testimonies of salvation are of people who trusted Christ after repeated witnessing attempts by multiple people.

I purchased my first goat as a thirteen-year-old fresh out of the city suburbs. I had no idea what I was in for. I named my new pet Sarah Jane, and exactly one day after my purchase, she had four kids. And I had my hands full. Sarah Jane nursed two of the kids, and I bottle fed the other two.

A lot of fear that Western Christians have about Muslims comes from a lack of understanding of the Islamic faith. Some Christians are deceived and pulled away from the faith. Others, such as Christians who burn the Koran, fail to show Christlike love and undermine missionaries’ efforts to win Muslims to Christ. There is a spiritual warfare raging between true Christianity and the Islamic world. We do not wrestle with flesh and blood, and this war will not be won through military might or political demonstrations. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to overcome the darkness of this world.

I think of teachers much like I do of nurses—heroes. Like nursing, teaching is an unsung job that requires tremendous amounts of personal investment in other people’s lives. And, also like nursing, teaching has the potential to make a tremendous difference as well.

He conducted a city-wide meeting in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1947. I listened to a recording of a fabulous sermon that he preached there. But at the end of his life, he was dependent on alcohol and the great ministry he once had vanished. Why did he not continue?

One of the highlights was a service in the town of Goroka. The church house was filled with hundreds of people. Approximately fifty children sat on the floor. All three of us preached. Not one child left their seat. I still can’t believe how quiet and attentive the children were for a three-hour service.

One of the core ministries that God has greatly blessed in our church is the organized discipleship on Wednesday evenings. Not only are there new people continually being enrolled in discipleship and others completing the course, but the biblical grounding and personal mentoring that takes place during the weeks of discipleship continues to bear fruit in people’s lives years after they have finished.